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Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker was a legendary Force Sensitive Human male who served the Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire as a Jedi Knight, and later as the Dark Lord Darth Vader. Born in 42 BBY to Jedi Master Kane Skywalker and Nellith Skywalker, Skywalker spent the first years of his life on Aquilae until the age eleven when he and his family moved to Tatooine and was raised there for the rest of his young life. Biography Early life Anakin Skywalker was born to the Jedi Master Kane Skywalker and his wife Nellith in 42 BBY on the planet Aquilae. From a young age, Skywalker had a reputation for being able to build or repair anything, evidenced by his creation of . It was constructed from salvaged parts and nearly completed by the time he was thirteen years old. Anakin was close to his cousins Luke and Leia, and during their early teenage years they often discussed their desire to leave Tatooine some day and go on adventures across the galaxy. Growing up, Anakin was friends with Kitster Lars, whose mother was friends with Shmi, as well as next door neighbors. When Skywalker was fourteen years old, he ran away from home when Shmi refused to tell him information concerning his father. He went to stay with his cousins, and shortly thereafter he and Luke left the homestead to go on a small adventure. Unfortunately, the two boys realized they had become lost in a sandstorm. In the desert, Anakin had a vision of a tall, dark figure. They soon discovered a Sand Person buried in the sand, and took his gaffi stick. They then sought shelter in a nearby cave but a pack of womp rats drove them back out into the storm, where they stumbled upon a red and white astromech droid. Ani rigged up the astromech's motivator to explode, causing a flare. Unfortunately, the flare attracted the attention of a krayt dragon that attacked the two boys. Luke lost sight of Ani, but on instinct, he killed the dragon by throwing the gaffi stick at its throat. Exhausted, the boys fell unconscious but, fortunately, Luke's father, Kendrew found them. Once he did, Kendrew brought them back to the homestead and both he and Shmi knew that there was something special about Anakin. In his first conversation with his mother since returning, Anakin was told that his father had been "a navigator on a spice freighter." Despite this mild deception, Skywalker continued to be an adventure-seeking youth. At the age of eighteen, Anakin started working for the Toydarian junk dealer named Watto D'Quero at Watto's Junk Shop. Leaving Tatooine In ? BBY, Skywalker's life changed forever. Skywalker was entranced by the girl and thought that she was so beautiful that he joked that she was an angel. Personality and traits Anakin Skywalker was thoughtful, intelligent, friendly, but also impatient, impulsive, cocky, reckless and had a thirst for power. Much like his own son Luke, Anakin, looked ahead to the future and had little regard for his own personal safety in his youth, much to his parent's chagrin. And although they frequently chided him over his adventurousness, he had a very special place in his heart for them as well as his younger brother, Deak. Though lovable, Skywalker was also one to carry grudges and was vengeful, but he commonly held these two traits in check. He was naturally honest and despised lying and deception, and especially hated politics, correctly considering most politicians to be greedy and self-conceited. He also hated being treated unjustly or being wrongly accused. He was fiercely loyal, doing anything to keep those he was close to from harm, at any cost. His only price for this dedication was loyalty in return. Shaken after sustaining injuries in his duel with Ben Kenobi, Skywalker became Darth Vader, and his personality changed completely. He was now a rattled man in light of the perceived betrayal of his dearest friend and mentor, and because of his suit, he now saw his marriage as officially over. Upon donning the armor that kept him alive, Vader initially remained uncertain, but eventually regained his self-confidence and over time even came to admire his suit for it's very appearance induced fear into many, enemy and ally alike. Vader had an extremely low tolerance of failure, and did not get on well at all with many of the higher-ups in the Imperial military, nearly choking Moff Zigmund Motti to death when he challenged the power of the Force, though Moff Motti survived due to the intervention of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Both Admiral Kendal Ozzel and Captain Lorth Needa were not so fortunate, as Vader telekinetically strangled both men to death following blunders they had committed. For their part, many higher-ranking Imperial officials despised the Dark Lord and his "sorcerer's ways." Despite his rather rocky relationship with higher-ranking officers in the military, Vader got along quite well with his troopers, once remarking. One reason Vader was popular with the troops that served under him was his willingness to fight in the front line, and not expect of anyone anything he was not willing to do himself. One officer who looked up to him because of this was Erv Lekauf, who often spoke highly of Vader to his grandson Jori Lekauf. Another military officer to be taken under Vader's wing was Firmus Piett, who succeeded Ozzel as Admiral of Death Squadron, and notably survived being under the Dark Lord's command having erred not once, but twice during his tenure under Vader. This was due to the fact that both of these failures were caused by unforeseeable factors, not errors in Piett's judgment. In addition, although he did execute officers when they failed him, he occasionally promoted military, such as officer Daine Jir, for traits he was personally impressed with. In Jir's case, it was his brutal honesty to Vader. He also retained his former identity's distaste for dishonesty and deception, holding some disgust towards individuals who were willing to betray their own worlds for power, even when such actions were to the benefit of the Galactic Empire. This was especially evident with his interactions with the Gecktl soldier Stafuv Rahz during the seizure of Harix, where he made no effort to hide his opinion of Rahz due to the latter's betrayal of the Gecktl to the Empire, and made it clear that should they have to rescue him, the rescue transport would lead to his death. Despite his actions, Vader apparently believed he was doing what was good for the galaxy. He expressed the belief that the Empire was the only way the galaxy could attain peace, justifying his actions and those of the Empire as necessary to accomplish this. In addition, he also made it clear to Dengar at one point that, while he did kill when he felt it needed to be done, he did not take amusement at it like Emperor Dantius Palpatine. In addition, by the time of the Battle of Endor, he also strongly believed that he was irredeemable, which he relayed to his son with some remorse when capturing him at Endor, in response to his son's attempts to get Vader to free himself from the grip of Palpatine. Shortly after saveing Luke from the Emperor, he admitted that Luke was indeed right about his still having good in him. Powers and abilities Lightsaber training Anakin Skywalker was trained by his father, the former Jedi Knight Kane Skywalker as well as the Order's most promising Jedi Knight, Ben Kenobi. Through them, Skywalker would inherit a rich tradition of lightsaber training. Skywalker's style featured elements of many masters, making him outstandingly talented, even at a very young age. Both Form V variants became the favored fighting styles of Anakin Skywalker, as their aggressive and strength-oriented fighting methods fit well with his arrogant, confrontational personality type. Due to his natural talent for lightsaber combat, he advanced quickly, an achievement which fed his ego. His specialty in the Shien form stood him in good stead during heated engagements with blaster-wielding foes, and he became a formidable lightsaber duelist. As his training as Kenobi's student progressed, Skywalker spent the following years of the conflict developing his skills in many pitched battles across the galaxy. He began studying the Djem So variant of Form V and used brute strength to overwhelm his opponents, and was also known to attack his opponents by lunging at them. Relying on both strength and agility, Skywalker proved able to adequately fend off or evade enemy attacks while immediately offering counters. Anakin Skywalker often applied some of the Ataru acrobatic moves, despite his mastery of Djem So. However, as the aggressive Form V encouraged practitioners to actively attempt to dominate their foes, Skywalker drew more and more on his anger and rage, sliding ever closer to the Dark side of the Force. When Anakin Skywalker at long last embraced the dark side, he maintained his Form V mastery, but utilized it in an even more brutal fashion, becoming a frightening opponent. However, his aggression became his fatal flaw, as he would become so controlled by it that it would give way to his rage. Though young, strong, athletic, and a master swordsman gifted with more raw Force power than the average Force adept, he still lacked the experience, calm, and focus that his father and his former master possessed. Though Skywalker could, and would call on the dark side to overpower his opponents, his mounting emotions distracted him, clouding his judgment and preventing him from executing his form as well as Kenobi executed his during their first duel. Whereas Skywalker's strength lay in his offensive barrage, Kenobi's strength resided in his staunch defense, and his absolute dedication to it would prove vital to his victory. Anakin, frustrated by his inability to break through this defense, began making mistakes and leaving openings that he otherwise would have avoided had he remained focused and patient. This, along with some tactically questionable decisions, resulted in Anakin's defeat and severe mutilation. After recovering from his wounds in his duel with his former mentor, Skywalker was forced into a mechanical life-support suit, rechristening himself Darth Vader. Because of this, it was extremely difficult for him to engage in the energetic acrobatics of Ataru, an act that would quickly tire him, defeating the purpose of the aggressive style. Initially after gaining the suit, Vader was forced to rely on his newly enhanced strength to batter his opponents, utilizing a clumsy method that utilized stiffly executed vertical strikes to wear down his opponent, although he included elements of Soresu and Ataru bladework in this. However, Vader was able to overcome this limitation fairly quickly, developing a refined version of Djem So that continued to include Ataru and Soresu elements, but also added Makashi to the mix. In fact, by the time of his first visit to Kashyyyk, Vader had incorporated aspects of all combat forms into his fighting style - even the highest and most dangerous ones. Rather than attempting to fight through the bulky and heavy armor, Vader fought with it, utilizing the armor's weight and his powerful prosthetics to provide his blows with incredible force, while relying on the main articulation points at the elbows and wrists for precision. With this new form, Vader regained some of his old agility, and his bladework was brutally effective. He never utilized anything less than a killing blow, and his swordplay demonstrated crispness and unpredictability, notwithstanding the two-handed grip he favored. Even the most simplistic moves contained enough strength to nearly disarm his opponents. Vader proved able to apply this personalized variant in many ways, sometimes opting to fight one-handed, relying on precision and economy of movement, but thanks to the added strength his prosthetics afforded him, he maintained a great deal of power. He demonstrated this method against the likes of Luke Skywalker. However, when forced onto the defensive, Vader would fight with a two-handed grip, elbows pressed tightly to his sides with the blade held straight out in front of him, manipulating it deftly with his wrists only. This method proved effective for protecting his torso, and his vulnerable control panel, but it left his limbs open. Vader applied this defensive style against Ben Kenobi during their final duel on board the Death Star I.Star Wars: A New Hope While he utilized his customized style to great effect, even against multiple opponents, Vader occasionally fell back on the clumsy and stiff vertical strikes that he used during his first weeks in the suit, unleashing a relentless, offensive barrage, as demonstrated during his duel against Luke Skywalker on Bespin. Vader apparently learned his lesson from his duel with Kenobi, learning how to control his emotions when in combat and finding a way to call upon calculated bursts of the dark side while not being blinded by emotions running amok, fighting with determination and relentlessness rather than rage. Vader also trained frequently with combat droids to keep his skills sharp, using ASP-19s by 3 ABY. Based on the ASP-series droid, the ASP-19s were lightsaber combat droids programmed with the knowledge of a hundred swordmasters and a dozen fighting styles, faster and stronger than an ordinary man. Vader defeated them time and again, and thus ordered new, improved batches of them. As his finesse and skill improved, Vader found that they became too easy to defeat, so much so that he took to battling them in two-on-one matches.Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire However, despite his skill, Vader's method was not perfect. Particularly during situations where he believed himself to be facing an inferior opponent, Vader could be taken off-guard or frustrated, causing lapses in his usually staunch defense. For example, a duelist who proved able to stand against Vader was his own son, Luke Skywalker. In their initial engagements, Vader proved superior, though it still took some effort to defeat Skywalker, who displayed a great deal of skill despite his minimal level of training. However, onboard the second Death Star, Luke managed to defeat Vader. Mirroring Darth Vader's own Form V technique, Skywalker responded with his own furious demonstration of the style's raw power. Luke proved able to meet Vader strength-to-strength, his marked increase in skill and sudden display of aggression and power toward the end of their bout caught Vader off guard, allowing Luke to drive back and overwhelm the experienced Dark Lord. Force abilities Anakin Skywalker was skilled in the use of telekinesis, able to lift heavy objects with minimal effort. He was also skilled at Force Jump, and was able to leap massive distances. Skywalker was also capable of a powerful Force Push. He was also skilled at Jedi Mind Tricks. However, Skywalker also had a habit of using the Force Choke power, a sign of who and what he would later become. He also possessed a keen Force sense, such as when he sensed the assassination attempt on his future wife. Because his body had been severely injured in his duel with his former mentor, Darth Vader was thought to have lost much of his Force potential. Nevertheless Vader wielded tremendous power and skill, enough to use the Force to overpower almost any opponent he could not defeat with his lightsaber. Had none of the events on Mustafar taken place, Darth Vader would have been far more powerful than the Emperor. Darth Plagueis was of the opinion that most of the limitations on Vader's potential power were not physical but psychological, as was often the case with emotionally disturbed Force-users. He believed that, were Vader to fully confront his choices and completely shake himself out of his despair, he would have been able to reawaken the incredible power within him. To an extent, this was true, as once he got used to his armor and re-tooled his fighting style, Vader regained most of his confidence and became one of the most powerful Dark Lords in galactic history. However, he would always be haunted to varying degrees by the choices he had made. Thus, while Vader made progress in that regard, he was never fully able to accept who and what he had become, and therefore never fulfilled his potential. The Prophets of the Dark Side also saw Vader as too much of a Jedi to truly embrace the Dark side. Darth Vader made extensive use of both the Force Choke and Force Crush abilities, as he demonstrated numerous times throughout his life. The Dark Lord also possessed skill in the use of Tutaminis, such as when he deflected several blaster bolts from Han Solo's blaster on Bespin. He was also capable of both blocking and redirecting Force Lightning with the Force. The Dark Lord could also use Telepathy, such as when he communicated with his son shortly after their duel on Bespin. Vader demonstrated the ability to Drain Knowledge from his victims, such as when he discovered that Leia was Luke's twin sister as he had long suspected. Vader was also adept at Saber throw, which he would often utilize in combat to make up for his relative lack of mobility. Vader also appeared to have great physical strength. As Skywalker, he demonstrated the ability to increase his strength by using the Force, but after his injuries his natural strength was vastly augmented by the addition of his cybernetic enhancements. He showcased on multiple occasions the ability to both lift and hold a grown man off the ground at arm's length with no apparent effort. As he demonstrated on Captain Raymus Antilles among others, he also had the ability to crush a human throat bare-handed. Vader also demonstrated remarkable physical durability and resistance to pain throughout his entire adult life. On at least two occasions, he was stabbed straight through the chest with both a lightsaber and a vibroblade, and hardly reacted in either case. Additionally, his armor allowed him to survive deadly environmental hazards such as explosions, toxins, diseases, and even the vacuum of space. It also provided Vader with a constant supply of pain suppressing drugs to help him function with his wounds. However, the suit was only moderately insulated, and thus its life-support systems were vulnerable to electrical discharges. While Vader was usually dependent on the respirator systems of the suit to breath, he was capable of using the dark side to heal his lung damage during his meditations. However, the relief he experienced during these sessions was very transient. He speculated that the momentary happiness he experienced as a result of healing himself disrupted his concentration, and robbed him of the hate that was necessary to maintain the dark side-based healing power. However when under a deranged state of mind, his immense rage apparently allowed him to use this healing technique to a far greater degree and was seen to operate in standard atmospheric conditions for a considerable length of time without his helmet, even while physically exerting himself. Besides the life support it provided, Vader's armor also offered limited protection against the blades of lightsabers. In a climactic duel with his son in the depths of Cloud City, a quick blow from Luke's lightsaber appeared to cut the armor only shallowly, although this was enough to draw a surprised cry from the Dark Lord. However, most of the armor was purposely made out of non-lightsaber resistant material, as Vader worried that he might grow sloppy if he relied too much on his armor to protect him in duels. Because of his decreased mobility, he was at a disadvantage when dueling against powerful Force adepts using fast-paced combat styles like Ataru. To counter these opponents, he would use the Force to pull out anything from his surroundings that he could and fling the improvised missiles at his opponent. Darth Vader most famously used this tactic on Luke Skywalker in their first duel on Bespin. In combat, Vader was extremely adept at utilizing telekinetic attacks, and often made liberal use of his telekinetic abilities during duels. He was capable of performing incredibly powerful Force Pushes and Grips. He was also capable of telekinetically griping and hurling objects without the need to utilize the "throwing" motion that nearly all Force sensitives were seen to use. This was most evident during his fight with Luke on Bespin, where he was able to surprise his son by telekinetically throwing a metal box at his head while maintaining a two-handed bladelock. He was also very proficient in the application of Force Repulse and Force Wave, and was able to generate enough power with both attacks to easily kill Force-insensitive assailants. Notes and references Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Skywalker family Category:Inhabitants of Coruscant Category:Inhabitants of Tatooine Category:Post-Ruusan Jedi Knights Category:Pilots Category:Farmers Category:Republic Army generals Category:Cyborgs Category:Imperial Knights Category:Inhabitants of Alderaan Category:Force-sensitives